ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to assess the provision of online public access catalog for effective use of library resources in three university libraries in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to find out the online public access catalogs provided; the resources available for effective provision of online public access catalogs; the extent to which the provision of online public access catalogs have contributed to the effective use of library resources; the problems associated with the provision of online public access catalogs; and strategies for improving the provision of online public access catalogs in the libraries. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. Purposive sampling was used to select three federal universities, including University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife, and the University of Ibadan. A structured questionnaire and observation checklist were developed based on the research questions and used to obtain data for the study. All data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using simple statistics (mean). The study findings show that federal university libraries under study have online public access catalogs functioning to a great extent and that through direct access to library bibliographic databases, timely access to library materials, and resource sharing, among others, online public access catalogs have greatly contributed to the effective use of the library resources. However, database conversion, unstable power supply, consistent systems breakdown, and inadequate computers, are among the problems associated with provision of online public access catalogs to support the use of library resources in the university libraries. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the libraries should seek funding from external bodies; catalogers should be exposed to skill acquisition platforms to acquire the competencies required for provision of online public access catalogs, and advances in use of the tools for online public access catalogs should be included in the curricula of library schools in Nigeria.

摘要

该研究旨在评估尼日利亚三个大学图书馆中有效利用图书馆资源的在线公共访问目录的提供。该研究的目的是找出提供的在线公共访问目录。有效提供在线公共访问目录可用的资源；提供在线公共访问目录在多大程度上有助于有效利用图书馆资源；与提供在线公共访问目录有关的问题；以及改善图书馆在线公共访问目录的提供的策略。描述性调查设计用于该研究。目的抽样用于选择三所联邦大学，包括拉各斯大学，奥巴费米·阿沃洛沃大学，伊费大学和伊巴丹大学。根据研究问题开发了结构化的问卷和观察清单，并用于获取研究数据。使用简单的统计数据（均值）分析通过问卷收集的所有数据。研究结果表明，所研究的联邦大学图书馆的在线公共访问目录在很大程度上发挥了作用，并且通过直接访问图书馆书目数据库，及时访问图书馆资料和资源共享等方式，在线公共访问目录做出了巨大贡献有效利用图书馆资源。但是，数据库转换，电源不稳定，系统持续崩溃以及计算机不足，这些问题与提供在线公共访问目录以支持大学图书馆中图书馆资源的使用有关。根据调查结果，建议图书馆应寻求外部机构的资助；编目人员应接触技能获取平台，以获取提供在线公共访问目录所需的能力，并且尼日利亚图书馆学校的课程应包括在线公共访问目录工具使用方面的进步。